Britney Spears’s father Jamie testified in her misdemeanor driving-without-a-license trial Thursday that California isn’t her permanent residence.

“Her home is Louisiana,” he said in a Southern drawl. As for when she’ll be returning to Louisiana, “There’s plans right now,” he said.

The 26-year-old pop star, who was not in court, faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on a charge of not having a valid license at the time of an August 2007 fender-bender. She had a Louisiana license, but prosecutors contend Spears should have had a California license as a resident of the state.

The prosecution rested its case after calling one witness: Department of Motor Vehicles investigator Gary Edmonds, who testified a DMV document showed that Spears was not licensed in California on the day of the accident.

Jamie Spears, 56, who legally controls his daughter’s affairs, took the stand for the defense, saying that his daughter is in California for the sake of her two sons.

Britney, whose ex-husband Kevin Federline has primary custody of their children, will move back to Louisiana once “we can travel with the kids (out of state) and spend time there,” her father said.

He went on to describe numerous family members who currently live there, including Britney’s mother, sister, aunts, uncles, and her newborn niece.

Britney currently owns homes in Louisiana, New York, Florida and California. She acquired her Louisiana home “eight and a half years ago,” he said.

Asked where he lives, Jamie replied, “I live with her. In Beverly Hills.” Then asked for his primary residence, he said, “Louisiana.”

Prosecutor Michael Amerian countered by stating that Spears’s voter status in Louisiana is inactive because she hasn’t voted there for some time. He also showed the jury her divorce filings, which indicated she was a California resident.

Closing arguments were set for Friday morning.

Britney Spears is overhauling her Web site, Britneyspears.com, so she can interact with fans.

“I wanted to create a place where I could connect with y’all and share what’s really going on in my life,” she says. “I’ll be sharing videos, stories, music, photos, and lots of other cool stuff.”

Spears, 26, will release her new album, Circus, in December.

A jury was seated Thursday in Britney Spears’s misdemeanor driving-without-a-license trial in a Van Nuys, Calif. court.

The 12-person panel, with two alternates, includes 10 women and four men.

Of these, at least eight expressed some form of sympathy for the pop star when asked their opinion of her, although most felt neutral in their overall impression of Spears.

Said Juror No. 1, “I think she’s a train wreck, but it’s not her doing. She has some not good people around her. It’s a sad situation.”

In addition, juror No. 13 stated that Spears suffers “medical problems, but with the right help, she’ll be okay.”

Several who had negative views of Spears, as well as many with no opinion, were dismissed in the court’s effort to seat a fair jury.

Opening Statement

Soon after the jury was seated, prosecutor Michael Amerian’s brief opening statement called the case “straightforward. Spears was driving on Aug. 6, 2007, and did not have a California license.” He added that the jury would conclude “that she is in fact, guilty.”

Spears’s attorney Michael Flanagan then argued that Spears, in possession of a valid Louisiana state license, was not required to get one for California until she becomes a permanent resident of the state.

“She regards Louisiana as her %26#91;permanent residence%26#93;,” he said. “She’s building a new house there, where she hopes to return as soon as her custody situation is straightened out.”

Flanagan also pointed out that Spears currently pays income taxes in Louisiana, is registered to vote there and never applied for a homeowner’s exemption for a tax break on her Los Angeles home.

Among the witnesses expected to be called over the next few days are Spears’s father Jamie, a photographer, a DMV investigator, and several police officers.

If convicted, Spears faces a maximum six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. She isn’t required to attend the hearings as it is only a misdemeanor case.

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It is official: the world has gone to the dogs - little, tiny, cute Mexican dogs.

While the surprise success of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which has been No. 1 at the box office for two straight weeks, has thrust the bug-eyed breed into the spotlight, they have a long and storied history as one of Hollywood’s favorite breeds. From Bit Bit to Bruiser, PEOPLE.com walks you though Hollywood’s Chihuahua Hall of Fame:

Tinkerbell Hilton: The OBHC, or Original Beverly Hills Chihuahua, is the tiniest Hilton who has more accessories than most Park Avenue heiresses, has her own unauthorized biography and was even the subject of a kidnapping scare when she went missing in August 2004. Luckily, the dog was reunited with owner Paris Hilton after a week. “She is like a child to me,” Hilton said at the time.

Gidget, the Taco Bell Chihuahua: With her bulging eyes and infectious catch phrase “Yo quiero Taco Bell!” Gidget helped kick off the chihuahua craze with a series of commercials that ran from 1997 to 2000. Befitting her trailblazing status, she had a great later career role as Bruiser’s mother in 2002’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White %26#38; Blonde, before dying of cancer three years later.

Bit Bit Spears: Few creatures have lived a more charmed life than Britney Spears’s canine companion. In her prime, the dog had her own room, complete with pintsized furniture, and was once treated to a $180 steak at Picasso Steak House in Las Vegas. While no longer a constant presence under Britney’s arm or on her website, Bit Bit is said to be living out her dotage in the actress’ Malibu estate.

Ren H%26#246;ek: Psychotic, neurotic, and asthmatic, this scrawny costar of the Nickelodeon cartoon series The Ren %26 Stimpy Show would have seriously creeped out any of the pampered chihuahuas on this list. While the show may have been cancelled in 2004, Ren and his dimwitted feline friend Stimpy are enjoying a long life in reruns.

Coco Millan: As the smallest member of Cesar Millan’s pack on the Dog Whisperer, Coco has spent zero time in haute couture, but it is still managing just fine, thank you. Coco had been brought to Millan to rehabilitate its aggressive behavior and ended up staying when his son,

Calvin, fell in love with the dog.

Bruiser: Long before Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the breed got its big-screen close-up as Elle Woods’s favorite accessory in 2001’s Legally Blonde. Bruiser was played by a rescued chihuahua named Moonie, who ended up reviving the role for the sequel.

With jury selection underway Wednesday in Britney Spears’s trial on a driving-without-a-license charge, two potential jurors expressed doubt about her innocence.

“I’m sure that she’s guilty,” said the juror, an elderly woman who works as a substitute teacher. “From (what I see in) the media, I cannot be fair, I have bias.”

Another prospect (the jurors are identified only by number), a middle-aged male employed as a sandwich maker, also said, “I think this case is a slam dunk. I think she’s guilty.”

The trial on the misdemeanor charge is expected to last three days, Superior Court Judge James A. Steele said. Included in a potential list of witnesses are Spears’s father Jamie, several police officers, and a photographer.

No opening statements or witnesses were heard. Jury selection resumes Thursday.

The trial began after a year of legal bickering in which the 26-year-old pop star rejected plea deals. She faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The charge stems from Spears’s fender-bender in August 2007 in which she had a Louisiana license but not a California license. Prosecutors claim that as longtime California resident, she should have had a license from that state.

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A New York middle school got a surprise visitor: Britney Spears.

The pop star dropped by John Philip Sousa M. S. 142 in The Bronx on Wednesday to present a $10,000 check to be used as an endowment for the school’s year-old music program.

As she entered the school (which was not in session due to the Jewish holiday), she was treated to a performance by the Sousatones, the school’s eight-piece band, led by director Sal Mazzola.

“When you’re ready to take us on the road for an opening act, we’re ready,” he told Spears.

Spears, who plans to tour in 2009, replied: “You’ll be the first people I call.”

Spears was also serenaded by a chorus of seven girls, including soloist Rachel Lewis, 14, who sang “I Am Woman.”

The donation came from Elizabeth Arden, which is behind Spears’s fragrances, Believe, Fantasy and Curious.

“I really enjoyed the time I spent at the John Philip Souza Middle Schoo,” Spears tells PEOPLE. “I’ve been working with the people at Elizabeth Arden for the last five years, and I know how passionate everyone is about the school. I loved hearing the school orchestra and the children sang so beautifully. The fact that Elizabeth Arden made such a large donation for the school music studio in my name was so generous.”

Britney Spears may face a trial next month in her driving-related misdemeanor case, her lawyer confirmed Thursday.

A Los Angeles court has set a trial date of Oct. 15, which can be avoided if Spears and prosecutors reach a plea deal, or if a higher court accepts her appeal.

“Britney will never plead guilty to this charge, which I believe should be reduced to a fix-it ticket,” said her attorney Michael Flanagan. “If our appeal is denied, we’ll go to trial.”

The charge stems from Spears’s hit-and-run incident in August 2007. A hit-and-run charge was eventually dismissed after the singer compensated the other driver for damages.

Flanagan has countered that the singer never intended to permanently reside on the West Coast, and that her valid Louisiana license at the time was sufficient.

Two months after the accident, she obtained a California license, “but that doesn’t account for when she drove without it,” city prosecutors said.

If convicted, Spears faces a maximum six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Flanagan previously turned down a plea deal - of a fine and probation - offered by prosecutors.

Britney Spears’s bad month just got worse: She has been charged with hit-and-run causing property damage and driving without a valid license, the Los Angeles City Attorney said Friday.

The charges stem from a fender-bender in a store parking lot on Aug. 6. Spears, 25, made a wide, right turn into a parking space and scraped another car’s bumper. (The incident was captured on video by celeb photo agency X17.)

“According to the DMV, Ms. Spears was never issued a California license - ever,” City Attorney’s spokesman Frank Mateljan tells PEOPLE.

The other car’s owner filed a police report at a North Hollywood station.

Her arraignment is set for Oct. 10 in a Van Nuys, Calif., court. If convicted on both misdemeanor charges, she faces up to a year in jail, Mateljan says.

Pasadena attorney Richard Hutton, best known for representing Paris Hilton in her probation-violation case earlier this year, says California residents must get a California driver’s license within their first 10 days as a resident.

Spears has been pulled over several times in recent years with being cited for the license violation. Hutton (who is not involved in the Spears case) says it’s possible officers were persuaded she maintains a residence in Louisiana and legitimately considers herself more a Louisiana resident than a California resident.

Overall, Hutton says, the charges are “minor stuff” and Spears could escape with a fine and probation.

The charges are just the latest headache for Spears, who earlier this week was ordered by a judge to undergo random drug tests. The judge in her custody fight with Kevin Federline found that she is a “habitual, frequent and continuous” user of alcohol and controlled substances, and now must submit to random twice-weekly testing.

• Additional reporting by HOWARD BREUER

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Check out PEOPLE’s new digital magazine now!

Britney Spears has arranged a wonderful birthday present for herself: her sixth studio album, Circus, due for release Dec. 2 - the day she turns 27, her label announced Monday.

Coming so soon after her triple victory - for video of the year, best female video and best pop video for “Piece of Me” - at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, Circus follows up her well-received 2007 album Blackout and continues the upward spiral the sometimes-troubled pop star has been experiencing.

The Outsyders, described by Spears’s label, Jive records, as an up-and-coming Atlanta production team, have produced the first single from the album, “Womanizer,” which will drop Sept. 22.

Overtakes Paris’s Record

In all, Spears has sold more than 62 million albums internationally, including 1999’s Baby One More Time, 2000’s Oops! … I Did It Again, 2001′ Britney, 2003’s In The Zone and the previously mentioned Blackout. Her sales records include eight No. 1 worldwide singles and four consecutive No. 1 albums.

Also on Monday, Guinness World Records revealed another accolade for Spears: she has replaced Paris Hilton as the Most Searched Person on the Internet in 2007.

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Britney Spears revved up the celebration for sons Preston and Jayden on Saturday, throwing her sons a joint car and truck-themed birthday bash in Los Angeles.

And the party was truly a family affair.

Spears celebrated her boys’ special days - Preston turns 3 on Sept. 14, and Jayden turned 2 on Sept. 12 - with sister Jamie Lynn Spears, her newborn niece Maddie Briann, dad Jamie and mom Lynne.

Held at close friend Adrienne Maloof-Nassif’s Beverly Park house, the outdoor party drew some famous guests, including Jenny McCarthy with her son Evan, and Gwen Stefani’s son Kingston, 2, who came to the bash from an equally starry affair: He celebrated Heidi Klum’s son Henry’s 3rd birthday at the model’s Beverly Hills house along with all three of Victoria Beckham’s sons.

“The boys received tons of birthday gifts,” a source told PEOPLE. “Britney and her family really made the party special for the boys.”